Peculiarities of Integration of the Population of Severodonetsk (LNR) into the Russian Federation: Regional and Confessional Aspects

In the context of the integration of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics into the political, economic and cultural space of the Russian Federation, the relevance of studying the history and issues of legal, social, and religious development of new entities within Russia is increasing. Based on historical analysis and data collected by the author during a trip to Severodonetsk in June of 2014, this article presents materials covering the regional and religious features of the area. A distinctive feature of Severodonetsk is that, since 2014, it has become the administrative center and received the status of capital of the Lugansk region of Ukraine. Later, the Ukrainian military-civil administration started working here, and the “SBU directorate for the Donetsk and Lugansk regions” was established. Since this period and up to the liberation of the city by the Russian Army in 2022, Severodonetsk has actively implemented a policy to suppress all pro-Russian movements.